Going Through Locks on the Snake and Columbia Rivers

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GFC

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On another forum a question was posed about the protocol for passing through the locks on the Columbia River and Snake River. Rather than take that thread any further off course I decided to start a separate thread to cover that and answer any questions about the locks. Then I figured I'd post that same information on here so others could see what it's like. I hadn’t planned this to be so long but I’ve tried to answer as many questions as I could.

The locks are operated and maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers. USACE Walla Walla District controls the locks on the upper Columbia River and the Snake River. USACE Portland District takes care of the locks on the lower Columbia River.

While the locks are all pretty much the same in the way they operate, there are differences between the locks, albeit minor ones. Each lock has a Lock Operator or Lock Master who controls the every facet of the operation of his lock. He determines when a boat can enter, which boat comes in first, where each boat can tie up to the floating bollards, etc.

Between Sept 15 and May 15, government and commercial vessels have priority over recreational vessels. Also, during those times boats can enter the lock at just about any time (daylight hours) and will be locked up or down. The remainder of the year the locks have set times when they will operate. Those times are 9:00 a.m., noon, 3:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. for upstream lockages. Downstream lockages are 30 minutes later.

The locks also differ in how boaters are treated. In the locks on the downstream end of the Columbia where they have a lot more recreational traffic and likely a lot more skippers who don’t know what they’re doing, the lockmasters assign your boat to a specific bollard. There are eight bollards in each of the locks and they’ll tell you which one to tie up to. On our locks up on this end of the Columbia and on the Snake they don’t do that and allow you to pick your own bollard. It also helps that, after going through the locks many times we’ve gotten to know the lockmasters by name and they know that I’m one who knows how to lock through. I think they also can determine from the way a person handles his VHF talk how knowledgeable a boater he is, and their attitude reflects that.

As you approach the lock to go through, boaters can call the lockmaster on VHF14 and request lockage. We usually call them about 30 minutes out so they know we’re coming. That way if the lock needs to be “turned around” (i.e., the water level in the lock is at the top and it needs to be at the bottom for us to go through) it give him time to accomplish that.

We also call when we arrive at the lock. The lockmaster will give you a green light to enter when everything is ready. That’s your signal that you’re clear to proceed into the lock. Another advantage of calling ahead is that you will generally have a green light when you arrive so you don’t have to wait.

The locks on the Columbia and Snake rivers are among the largest in the country, if not the world, in terms of how high they raise/lower a boat. There are dams that are taller, but they don’t have navigation locks. Each of the locks is 86’ wide and around 675’ long. The length varies a bit from lock to lock but the width is a constant so they can handle the barges. The lift also varies from lock to lock, with Ice Harbor lock being about the highest with an average lift of 105’. I’ve been through Ice Harbor lock during the spring runoff when the upstream water level was high and the lift was 118’.

When boaters pass through many locks in other areas of the country they either toss a line up to lock workers on the wall of the lock, or the lock workers toss down a line to the boat. In either case, they use the line to keep the boat in position and adjust the length of the line as the boat rises or falls.


That’s not a workable system when you have a lift of 100’+ so these locks have large tin cans called bollards. The bollards float and are free to move up and down as the water level in the lock is raised or lowered. The bollard has steel wheels on opposite sides that roll up and down in tracks built into the walls. Here’s a picture of a typical bollard, this one at Ice Harbor lock.
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Usually the bollard just floats there, but if there’s any wave action inside the lock, here’s what can happen.

Normally the lockmaster will keep the guillotine door open until everyone is secure. There have been times when they’ve shut it at our request prior to us tying up at a bollard. We’ve done that twice, and both times when the wind was coming through the opening beneath the door so hard it was causing a large wave action and making tying up almost impossible.

In both of those times we just held position in the middle of the lock until the door got down and the winds died. That’s what was going on in the video I posted above.

When a boat comes up to the bollard it is secured to the large cleat on the top. Boaters have the option of securing to the cleat using a bow line and stern line, or as we do it, with a line from our mid-ship cleat to the cleat on the bollard.

As a boater approaches Ice Harbor lock from the downstream side, here’s what he sees. These pictures were taken during the spring runoff so the water is turbulent and contains a lot of silt.
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The two tall towers hold the cables that lift the guillotine gate at the downstream end of the lock. When they have tugs coming through they raise the gate all the way up, creating about a 50’ tall opening. The opening to the lock is the black hole right in the middle of this shot.

The day these pics were taken there was about an 8-9 kt current running down the river. Here’s a shot of a red nun buoy that is almost completely under the water because of the current. This makes navigation a bit tricky at times.
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Here’s what the lock looks like as you enter. I’ve gone through this lock many times and it’s still a bit overwhelming.
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When the wind is blowing it swirls around inside the lock and tosses even large boats around like they were toys. This happened to me a year or so ago and we ended up getting spun around in the lock. The port stern of my boat struck against the wall and caused about $1,800 damage.

Here’s a shot looking back toward the guillotine gate as it’s being lowered.
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When the boater has his vessel secured to the bollard it’s customary to call the lockmaster on VHF14 to let him know you’re secure. PFD’s are required inside the lock for any passenger on a vessel who is outside an enclosed cabin. Once you’ve notified the lockmaster that you’re secure he turns some switches that open valves beneath the floor of the lock. There are no pumps involved in raising or lowering the water level, it’s all done by gravity.

If you’re going upstream, the lockmaster opens the valves and the water rises to seek the same level as the river above the lock. The water flows into the lock from the upstream side and it’s just like filing a bath tub.

This water coming in can create turbulence in the lock. It also pushes against the bow or stern of boats that are tied to the bollards. If you’re not securely tied and you’re near the upstream end of the lock, the water is pushing on your stern. That tends to push your bow toward the wall of the lock, so lots of fenders between your boat and the lock are needed to prevent damage. If you’re near the downstream end of the lock the water is pushing against the bow and doesn’t have the same effect, though it does try to push the boat back and, because the boat is pivoting around the bollard it can push the stern against the wall. The force isn’t as great but large fenders are still needed.

Here’s a shot of the turbulence in the lock as the water is being let in.
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continued......
 
It takes about 30 minutes from the time the lockmaster opens the valves to when you’re all the way up or down and he closes them again. You’re going up or down at the rate of about 3’ per minute, so the wall of the lock is passing by pretty quickly.

Here’s a shot taken when we’re almost all the way to the top of the lock. The gate at the upstream end is a cantilever gate that rotates down to allow boats to pass over it.
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And here’s a shot looking back into the lock after we’ve pulled out.
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Here are two shots taken during the same passage through the lock. The first one shows a depth of 19.9’ before we started to be raised up.
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And the second shows 135’ at the top. That’s one of the larger lifts we’ve been through at 115’.
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As a parting shot, here’s a pic of our friendly lockmaster, Russ, in his tower. It’s positioned so he can watch what’s going on down in the lock.
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Here are some links to USACE pages that explain more about the locks and the dam system.
Walla Walla District - Ice Harbor Lock and Dam
Walla Walla District > Missions > Recreation > Ice Harbor Dam - Lake Sacajawea > Ice Harbor Visitor Center
http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/Portals/24/docs/navigation/HowToLockThru.pdf

Going through the locks is a great experience. I’ve gone through the locks several times a year for the past 25 or so years and it’s still a bit overwhelming. The biggest challenge is when the wind is blowing, but even on a calm day there’s still that chance of something going wrong. Having your plan to secure the boat all settled out ahead of time is key, and having a good deck hand is also important. Tina’s first time through the locks was with me about 10-12 years ago and she was scared to death. Now, after having done it many times under all kinds of conditions she’s gotten pretty darn good at it.
Here’s her usual position after we’re all secured and just waiting to go up.
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Thanks for all the detail; great post! We'd love to go all the way up the through the Snake .
 
George, You're welcome for the detail. That's a great trip though I must admit the scenery gets a little boring on the upper end. Also, getting into some of the areas in Lewiston, ID, which is the upper end of the navigable water, is getting real tricky. They need to dredge it and there's apparently no $$$ to do it.
 
Thanks for information. That is very cool!

I suppose it's very unlikely, but I can imagine the panic if the wheels on the floating bollard you tied to get jammed and prevent the bollard from rising or falling with your boat. If that is a possibility, it may be prudent to have the line secured in a way that would facilitate a quick release (or keep a sharp knife handy!).
 
Nice picks and video. I've not been through a lock with large bollards like that. Going through the Hiram M. Chittenden locks in Ballard small locks we toss looped end the line to the operator and then secure the bitter end to the boat. Going through the large locks, toss the looped end of the line to the operator and then one wrap around the cleat on the boat and pay out the line as the water level changes.

Boater Information

Seattle District > Missions > Civil Works > Locks and Dams > Chittenden Locks

You see all kinds of circus acts on a busy summer weekend.
 
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Every book or article on locking I have ever read admonishes boaters to never cleat a line to a floating bollard. The lock masters of the large locks along the Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee and Ten-Tom occasionally remind boaters of this when you enter. I found that looping the line around the bollard and then taking one turn around the mid ship cleat was sufficient to hold the boat even with gusting winds and swirling waters. While I never saw a bollard get stuck, they don't come up evenly with the water level, but move in bursts of a foot or two at a time, and there are frequently debris, weeds and dead fish mingled in around the guide wheels.
 
Nearly becoming a Gordian knot :eek::


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Thanks GFC I enjoyed the write up!
 
OK, let me explain the tying up process that GW does. I get the boat up to the bollard and she's VERY quick about getting that first wrap around the base of the cleat. Then she really leans into it and brings us up tight to the wall as possible (as tight as we can get given the fenders).

She's so good at getting us secured quickly that I don't give her any crap about her style. That's a case of function over form and it works for us. Yes, it looks like a Gordian Knot, but she explained it to me that she doesn't want to have a loose line that she might trip over.

And yes, she does have a sharp, serrated blade knife attached to her PFD! (we both do!). She knows that if anything hangs up she's to cut the line immediately and I'll take care of handling the loose boat in the lock.

There aren't any measurements on how high up the gate goes. I'm sure the lockmaster has some means of determining how high it goes. I need about 27' clearance if my antennas are up and they always give me plenty above that. When going through a different lock I always ask them to give me at least 28'.

Mr. Jim, that has happened to a friend of mine. He didn't have a knife with him and had to run into the salon to grab a steak knife from the galley. The water was going down and his boat dropped a few feet when he finally got the line cut.

Great Laker, out here you're required to tie up to a bollard. They don't care if you use one line from your mid-ship cleat or two lines (bow and stern) but you must tie up. I suspect that's due to two things--the turbulence in the lock when it's filling and the length of time it takes to fill the lock. They don't want boats playing bumper pool inside the lock.

They do allow boats to raft to each other. Several years ago we had a cruise up the Snake and had 28 boats in the lock at one time. I had organized the cruise and knew that without some order to the way we went into the locks it would be a cluster*uck. At a dinner the night before we went on the cruise I assigned everyone their position in going into the lock and the bollard they would tie to.

Each boater was given a schedule of who went where and in what order and things went off like clockwork. Amazing what a little order brings to a cluster*uck.

On a related note, I always keep both engines running when we're in the lock. I know we're burning 30 minutes of diesel when we maybe don't need to, but I don't want to have to start the engines in an emergency.

Going through the locks is a real adventure. If any of you are Columbia River or Snake River boaters you know what I mean. If you're a PNW boater you might consider a trip up the Columbia or Snake to give the locks a try.
 
Good info, thanks.

I've considered making the trip to Clarkston but with a 8-9 knot current it's not going to happen in our 7 knot trawler.

Is a 8-9 knot current normal or unusual?
 
Great Laker, out here you're required to tie up to a bollard. They don't care if you use one line from your mid-ship cleat or two lines (bow and stern) but you must tie up. I suspect that's due to two things--the turbulence in the lock when it's filling and the length of time it takes to fill the lock. They don't want boats playing bumper pool inside the lock.

On a related note, I always keep both engines running when we're in the lock. I know we're burning 30 minutes of diesel when we maybe don't need to, but I don't want to have to start the engines in an emergency.

GFC:

Throughout the 147 locks on the Great Loop, not only were lines not allowed to be cleated off, but engines were required to be off and life preservers were required for anyone on deck. Everyone seemed to know these rules and everyone seemed to comply.

What an interesting change in culture/behavior between the east and west coast! From an overall safety point of view, I think I prefer the east coast practices.
 
GFC,
Great narrative on the locks!

What most do not understand about the Snake and Columbia is how much volume and height of water that moves to lift a boat. If one doesnt keep engine (s) active the boat will scrape the walls. The lock walls look like a cheese grater for fiberglass. On Volunteer we have sat with the helm hard over, in gear, full bow thruster going and still almost rubber the hull.

One other note as the velocity of the water is controlled by the lock master and is dependent on their need to get you out due to commercial traffic...or their mood..we have had easy and extremely tough conditions going the same way in the same lock..depending on the lock master. At times the "mood" ofvthe lock masters seems to make rec boaters feel like 2nd class citizens.

But all in all the Columbia/Snake locks are a really cool experience.
Hollywood
 
Is a 8-9 knot current normal or unusual?
That's the norm during the spring runoff that usually lasts into April. In low snowpack years like this it could end as early as the end of March. The rest of the year there's about a 3kt current.

What an interesting change in culture/behavior between the east and west coast! From an overall safety point of view, I think I prefer the east coast practices.
Just curious--why?

Hollywood, I have noticed at times it seems like we're really moving up/down when in the lock. Other times not so much. I just figured it was the difference in the height of the water above the lock. The higher the water head the more pressure there is pushing the water through the valves.

I also have noticed that some of the lockmasters have developed an attitude. By God it's THEIR lock and you're going to do things THEIR way. Fortunately they are not the majority.
 
George, You're welcome for the detail. That's a great trip though I must admit the scenery gets a little boring on the upper end. Also, getting into some of the areas in Lewiston, ID, which is the upper end of the navigable water, is getting real tricky. They need to dredge it and there's apparently no $$$ to do it.

Mike,

Do you know anything about marinas or yards in Lewiston? I've given some thought to purchasing a 50-60 foot boat in Portland or Seattle, running it up the rivers, then loading on a truck and having it hauled to the nearest suitable splash location on the Great Lakes. Enjoy the voyage and shorten/simplify the over-the-road portion. But there would have to be a suitable place to haul the boat, disassemble as required, and load on the semi.

Thanks, Eric
 
Eric, I'm not going to be much help with that. There is a marina there but I think it's just a marina, not a boat yard.

My suggestion would be to do the reverse of what I did when I bought my boat. I bought it in Harrison TWP, just north of Detroit, had it disassembled at MacRay Harbor and shipped to a yard in Portland to be put back together and some additional equipment added.

There are ZERO suitable boat yards upstream from Portland that I would trust to have the skill and knowledge to take a boat apart prior to shipping.

If you want the name of the yard in Portland that put mine together just let me know. BTW, one of the smartest things I did in the whole process was to fly the technician who would be reassembling the boat back to Detroit to supervise the tear down.

Had I left that to the selling dealer he'd have just gone in and cut cables. The technician marked every cable on both sides of where he cut so he would know what went with what when he put it back together. I've had ZERO problems with any of the wiring that he cut and reassembled.

All that cost me was airfare, a rental car for a week and a week stay at a hotel.

What part of MI are you in? I grew up in Saginaw.
 
Eric, I'm not going to be much help with that. There is a marina there but I think it's just a marina, not a boat yard.

My suggestion would be to do the reverse of what I did when I bought my boat. I bought it in Harrison TWP, just north of Detroit, had it disassembled at MacRay Harbor and shipped to a yard in Portland to be put back together and some additional equipment added.

There are ZERO suitable boat yards upstream from Portland that I would trust to have the skill and knowledge to take a boat apart prior to shipping.

If you want the name of the yard in Portland that put mine together just let me know. BTW, one of the smartest things I did in the whole process was to fly the technician who would be reassembling the boat back to Detroit to supervise the tear down.

Had I left that to the selling dealer he'd have just gone in and cut cables. The technician marked every cable on both sides of where he cut so he would know what went with what when he put it back together. I've had ZERO problems with any of the wiring that he cut and reassembled.

All that cost me was airfare, a rental car for a week and a week stay at a hotel.

What part of MI are you in? I grew up in Saginaw.


So much for that idea. But thanks for the info, Mike.

Our boat was originally imported and sold by Irwin Yachts in Portland. It was later moved to Lake Union in Seattle and then hauled via truck to Lake Travis in Austin Texas. Upon purchase we had it trucked from Austin to Lake Michigan. I used a few photos and some of the same support fixtures (for the arch and sunroof) from the previous owner when disassembling. There's a photo of it on the semi in my album. I did 90% of the work myself and supervised the rest. My brother-in-law supervised reassembly on the other end. Digital cameras and the internet made it a relatively seamless exercise, so I'm not particularly intimidated by the process. Lots of OAs from which to select in the Pacific Northwest, not so much on the Great Lakes.

We're intermittent summer live aboards and bounce around the Lakes, mostly the northern end of Lake Michigan, Green Bay, and the North Channel. Haven't made it down the Lake Huron side of Michigan as yet.

Thanks again for the info.
 
Wow, your boat sure has a lot of highway miles on her! :)

I was still working when I bought mine so didn't have the time to supervise it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. The real truth is I didn't have the expertise to do that kind of a job. I wanted the boat to work when it was put back together and I knew if I had done the teardown that working might not have been the outcome.

You're right about their being lots of OA's out here on the PNW waters. I have two friends with OA's, one a 48 and one a 42. Nice boats.

We were up in your neighborhood last August. Spent 2 weeks in MI and toured the Traverse City-Harbor Springs-Petosky-Mackinaw Island and down the Lake Huron shore. Made me wish I had boat back there to cruise on.
 
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